Today is 11/11/11 which in our world is a very cool thing! I have always had a thing with the time and date being anything with 11's. I have read many articles about the significance of 11 and how in numerology it is a powerful number. So Justin and I spent the day together (he was off work) and pampered ourselves with massages, a nice lunch, and pedicures. Justin and I noted the time today when it turned 11:11am and will do it again at 11:11pm. I know we are weird, but I am hoping the day brings some positive energy to this process.
Ok on to the crazy:
The effect of the hormone injections have definitely set in!! My hormones are going crazy! I have hot flashes throughout the day and my mood seems to be on a roller coaster from happy to sad to mad in a matter of minutes. Wow, look out! I yelled at a girl i work with last night, because honestly I haven't had the guts to do it, but apparently these hormones raging through me have given me the gumption to tell people how I really feel and call them out if they are rude. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but I'll have to say I felt great after it happened.
We went to the doctor yesterday (Thursday) and had the usual things done. First was the paper towel skirt portion with the ultrasound. The doctor seemed to be in a positive mood and I told him about my positive thinking and mantra. He agreed that thinking positively is actually scientifically proven to help have a better outcome with this process.
He said the results of my blood work came back from Monday and my baseline estradiol levels were normal and my progesterone level was baseline normal as well. That's a good start.
So the ultrasound showed 3 follicles on the left side and possibly one on the right. Which is totally weird because the last several months the right side has been the only side producing anything, and now apparently the left side has woken up and decided to be a part of this. I asked about the possibility of more follicles still popping up and he said it happens all the time, so I need to keep my mantra going. The 4 follicles that I have are not big enough yet to harvest, so he said I must keep on the same amounts of the first 2 drugs, and then this morning (Friday) he instructed me to start the 3rd injection which is also done in the stomach in the morning. The 3rd drug prevents your body from ovulating these follicles, so that they can be harvested.
The doctor seemed very positive about the 4 follicles. He said all we need is one good one, but realistically we want more than 1 follicle to have better odds.
We also had blood work done at this appointment. Add another vial to the count. The lady who usually doesn't do her job very well drawing blood actually did an ok job and Justin was there to hold my hand so that helps. This testing will check my estradiol level again. The doctor said with the amount of drugs I am on and based on what he sees on the ultrasound the number should be over 100, at least. Here we are again! This is the same time that we had to stop everything last time. But since we see follicles growing, we are moving forward!! Yay!
We were supposed to have an appt today, but the doctor decided to cancel and have me just come in tomorrow morning (Saturday). So I haven't gotten my results back from Thursday's blood work. But I am assuming it had to be over 100 or I would have gotten a phone call. So that is all good news!
How am I doing with the shots? Ugh! Not good yesterday and today! My stomach seems to be getting really sore and tough from all the needles, so each one has begun to hurt worse. I have been using an ice pack like always to numb up my stomach before each shot, but yesterday and today the ice pack doesn't seem to be helping at all. The second drug that burns going in was very painful last night and almost unbearable tonight. I started crying immediately after Justin did it tonight because it felt like burning poison going into my stomach. I am not sure how many more of those I can take without losing my mind. The new 3rd drug we started this AM was not that easy either because Justin couldn't get the needle to go in all the way. It was really strange. So after 5 pokes he had to jab it hard to get it to go in all the way in order to be able to release the medicine. NOT fun! Makes me nauseous just typing about it. The worst is when we have to do 2 injections of the first easy drug because the cartridge runs out midway through!!! So like this morning for example i got poked with needles 7 times before it was all said and done. Again, NOT fun! It is a crappy way to start your day. So you can see how someone might be a little emotional just from that, let alone the drugs that are making you more emotional on the inside. I started using a heating pad on my stomach this morning after my injections to help with some of the soreness. As I sit here typing I have the heating pad on there again.
I can't believe how much different this process is this time around, physically and emotionally! A whole different ball game.
I just have to remember that this is all for an amazing end result! Hard to remember sometimes, but I try.
Jenny
Blood draws 9 Vials 28
Injections 33
Needle pokes-too many to count!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
It's funny who you relate to in these situations
Today is cycle day 5, and I have been taking the injections for 3 days now. The first medicine that I have to do twice a day with the pen thingy are getting to be a breeze. Especially the one in the morning at 7am because I am half asleep. I started the second drug injection tonight at 7pm, so I am now doing 2 injections in the evening. The one I started tonight is the one that burns going in, so it makes me a little light-headed and nauseous for about a minute after it goes in.
Justin is taking a class on Wednesday evenings working towards his bachelors degree, so he wasn't able to do my injections tonight. Luckily for me I have a great friend, Jessica that I work with who is on her way to becoming a nurse, so she said she would help me out. She did a great job and I had very little pain with both injections! So thank goodness for good friends! Thanks Jess!
The reason for my posting title is this morning I was talking to my cleaning lady and we started talking about fertility stuff because she saw all the needles and biohazard container on my kitchen counter. Yea, I know kinda creepy but don't worry I will hide them if anyone of you come over. Anyway, she started telling me about how she went through ten years of infertility stuff and surgeries trying to have a baby. She said she never went through the full IVF or adoption because she couldn't afford it. Finally at 45, she had given up and then one of her worker girls came up to her and said "hey I know u want a baby and my sister in law is pregnant again and the state takes them away because she is unfit. I am sure she would let u adopt it.". And so a month later she went to the hospital, the baby was born healthy, the mother never even held it, and my cleaning lady had the papers signed the next day, and the baby was hers for $200. Yea, crazy stuff huh! The point of my story is that you never know who you are going to relate to in the world, and sometimes I feel like I relate better to strangers who have had or are going through similar experiences, rather than someone like a friend I have known for 20 years. Weird!
I am headed to the dr's office tomorrow morning to see what these crazy follicles are doing! (ultrasound and blood work results from Monday) Remember growing big and growing more is what they are supposed to be doing!! I am hoping the are following my mantra.
Jenny
Blood draws 8 Vials 27
Injections 24
Justin is taking a class on Wednesday evenings working towards his bachelors degree, so he wasn't able to do my injections tonight. Luckily for me I have a great friend, Jessica that I work with who is on her way to becoming a nurse, so she said she would help me out. She did a great job and I had very little pain with both injections! So thank goodness for good friends! Thanks Jess!
The reason for my posting title is this morning I was talking to my cleaning lady and we started talking about fertility stuff because she saw all the needles and biohazard container on my kitchen counter. Yea, I know kinda creepy but don't worry I will hide them if anyone of you come over. Anyway, she started telling me about how she went through ten years of infertility stuff and surgeries trying to have a baby. She said she never went through the full IVF or adoption because she couldn't afford it. Finally at 45, she had given up and then one of her worker girls came up to her and said "hey I know u want a baby and my sister in law is pregnant again and the state takes them away because she is unfit. I am sure she would let u adopt it.". And so a month later she went to the hospital, the baby was born healthy, the mother never even held it, and my cleaning lady had the papers signed the next day, and the baby was hers for $200. Yea, crazy stuff huh! The point of my story is that you never know who you are going to relate to in the world, and sometimes I feel like I relate better to strangers who have had or are going through similar experiences, rather than someone like a friend I have known for 20 years. Weird!
I am headed to the dr's office tomorrow morning to see what these crazy follicles are doing! (ultrasound and blood work results from Monday) Remember growing big and growing more is what they are supposed to be doing!! I am hoping the are following my mantra.
Jenny
Blood draws 8 Vials 27
Injections 24
Monday, November 7, 2011
Round 2 begins!
Well the day has finally come!! After about a 7 week hiatus we are finally back on the IVF road. I waited patiently for my cycle to come on its own this time around and was told it MUST start on or before Nov 5th in order to be in the Nov cycle. Well I guess you could say my body decided to wait till the last second, 4pm on Nov 5th, but hey whatever, it was in time so that's all that matters right!
This morning (Monday) I went in for my first appointment with the doctor to have an ultrasound and blood drawn to make sure everything looks good to start the drugs. The ultrasound showed 4-5 follicles, but with it being only day 3 of my cycle more follicles can emerge in the next several days. So my mantra for the next 2 days is "grow more follicles, grow bigger, grow more follicles, grow bigger."
The doctor again was in his 'think out loud mode' and again started with the rambling about, "ok severe endo, blah blah blah.". After the ultrasound the doctor again told me the AMH level test results from the previous month, which he had already told me. He tried to start discussing it again and I immediately stopped him because I could see he was starting to go down a negative path again. I reminded him that I had a follicle count of 9 on my own last month with no drugs and that he had said in our previous appt that he was going to ignore the AMH results and focus on the follicles. I was not going to start this 2nd cycle with negative shit! I have had enough of people telling me what is wrong with me, so at this point just tell me what is good about what is going on. The doctor liked my thinking and rational. So I guess every appt I am going to have to remind him to say positive things to me.
After the ultrasound the nurse coordinator gave me my first injection of Follistim. Oh yea I forgot to mention the doctor decided to do the same drugs again this cycle, because the results from the pharmaceutical company who were testing my first meds have NOT come back yet. I will do 2 injections a day of the max dose (225iu) of Follistim for the next 3.5 days. I guess I should say Justin will give me 2 injections a day, because we all know I am not looking at it!! Then I will go back Thursday morning for monitoring to see how things are progressing.
The last part of the appt was getting to have more blood drawn to see where my FSH and LH levels are. Yay!! More needles!! I want my FSH to be under 12 and LH at 30 or over. I got 2 more vials to add to the total, awesome! I will get the results of those on Thursday at my appt.
Before I left the nurse coordinator gave me a big bag of drugs and needles. That was a really funny last sentence to write! Ha! She gave me a cartridge of Follistim to replace the one that is being tested, along with 4 others and 6 vials of the second drug I will start taking Thursday evening. All the drugs she gave me were samples (free), so that was really nice, because we won't have to spend any monies for the first 5 days of Follistim and the first 3 days of the second drug. Basically all the drugs we paid for the first IVF were comp'd this time around. So if we can get past the place we got to in IVF #1 we will then start paying for the drugs again. Whew, complicated! But grateful for the samples!
How am I feeling? Anxious, nervous, excited, positive! How is my needle anxiety? Funny, but it actually seems to be getting better. Since I have been through all of this portion of the IVF process once already the needles seem a little less scary. And the anxiety build-up that would happen about 10-15 minutes before I would get an injection seems to be less. BUT oddly enough the anxiety before I get blood drawn is still really high! I get light-headed and nauseous. I think this might be because the lady that draws the blood in the office SUCKS at her job about 80% of the time. She usually doesn't hit the vein right the first time, so to know in advance that it is really going to hurt and more than once, might be where the anxiety is stemming from. Ha! Ya think!
So here we go!! Positive thoughts and positive energy, grow more follicles, grow bigger!
Jenny
Blood draws 8 Vials 27
Injections 18
This morning (Monday) I went in for my first appointment with the doctor to have an ultrasound and blood drawn to make sure everything looks good to start the drugs. The ultrasound showed 4-5 follicles, but with it being only day 3 of my cycle more follicles can emerge in the next several days. So my mantra for the next 2 days is "grow more follicles, grow bigger, grow more follicles, grow bigger."
The doctor again was in his 'think out loud mode' and again started with the rambling about, "ok severe endo, blah blah blah.". After the ultrasound the doctor again told me the AMH level test results from the previous month, which he had already told me. He tried to start discussing it again and I immediately stopped him because I could see he was starting to go down a negative path again. I reminded him that I had a follicle count of 9 on my own last month with no drugs and that he had said in our previous appt that he was going to ignore the AMH results and focus on the follicles. I was not going to start this 2nd cycle with negative shit! I have had enough of people telling me what is wrong with me, so at this point just tell me what is good about what is going on. The doctor liked my thinking and rational. So I guess every appt I am going to have to remind him to say positive things to me.
After the ultrasound the nurse coordinator gave me my first injection of Follistim. Oh yea I forgot to mention the doctor decided to do the same drugs again this cycle, because the results from the pharmaceutical company who were testing my first meds have NOT come back yet. I will do 2 injections a day of the max dose (225iu) of Follistim for the next 3.5 days. I guess I should say Justin will give me 2 injections a day, because we all know I am not looking at it!! Then I will go back Thursday morning for monitoring to see how things are progressing.
The last part of the appt was getting to have more blood drawn to see where my FSH and LH levels are. Yay!! More needles!! I want my FSH to be under 12 and LH at 30 or over. I got 2 more vials to add to the total, awesome! I will get the results of those on Thursday at my appt.
Before I left the nurse coordinator gave me a big bag of drugs and needles. That was a really funny last sentence to write! Ha! She gave me a cartridge of Follistim to replace the one that is being tested, along with 4 others and 6 vials of the second drug I will start taking Thursday evening. All the drugs she gave me were samples (free), so that was really nice, because we won't have to spend any monies for the first 5 days of Follistim and the first 3 days of the second drug. Basically all the drugs we paid for the first IVF were comp'd this time around. So if we can get past the place we got to in IVF #1 we will then start paying for the drugs again. Whew, complicated! But grateful for the samples!
How am I feeling? Anxious, nervous, excited, positive! How is my needle anxiety? Funny, but it actually seems to be getting better. Since I have been through all of this portion of the IVF process once already the needles seem a little less scary. And the anxiety build-up that would happen about 10-15 minutes before I would get an injection seems to be less. BUT oddly enough the anxiety before I get blood drawn is still really high! I get light-headed and nauseous. I think this might be because the lady that draws the blood in the office SUCKS at her job about 80% of the time. She usually doesn't hit the vein right the first time, so to know in advance that it is really going to hurt and more than once, might be where the anxiety is stemming from. Ha! Ya think!
So here we go!! Positive thoughts and positive energy, grow more follicles, grow bigger!
Jenny
Blood draws 8 Vials 27
Injections 18
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Good News!
My hair has almost completely stopped falling out. I stopped taking the DHEA supplement Oct 10th, and I also started using this AWESOME natural treatment for my hair and within 8 days of stopping the DHEA and 2 days of using the treatment I have stopped shedding! You have no idea what that can do for a girls self-esteem! I felt like daily I was getting sadder and sadder every time I saw the large amounts of hair that I was losing. But it is amazing how quickly that sadness can turn around. So I am hoping that this is the end of this part of the journey. I will continue to use the natural treatment for awhile, and I told the doctor I am not taking the DHEA supplement anymore. He said that was fine, because it is not vital to the IVF process. It was just an added thing that had been researched recently and shown positive IVF results, but the doctor said there has only been one study, so he personally doesn't know if it really does anything or not. I am willing to take my chances and not include it in order to have hair on my head! In case anyone is wondering the products I am using are:
www.justnaturalskincare.com
Hair Loss Shampoo
Vinegar Rinse Cleanser
Grow New Hair treatment-Spray Oil
A much happier
Jenny
www.justnaturalskincare.com
Hair Loss Shampoo
Vinegar Rinse Cleanser
Grow New Hair treatment-Spray Oil
A much happier
Jenny
Monday, October 17, 2011
A couple of great posts from a fellow infertility blogger
She really knows how to get the point across! Love it!
Post: Trying to Conceive: A month-by-month guide.
Link: http://www.jennepper.com/2007/
Post: Did you seriously just say that?
Link: http://www.jennepper.com/2007/
Post: Trying to Conceive: A month-by-month guide.
Link: http://www.jennepper.com/2007/
Post: Did you seriously just say that?
Link: http://www.jennepper.com/2007/
The Waiting Game
As I said in my last blog we had an appointment with the doctor last Friday (Oct 14th) to do a follicle count and to get the results of my AMH test. Well once again we had good news and bad news, but according to the doctor the good news in this case is out-weighing the bad news.
Bad news is that my AMH level has significantly dropped from 0.48 in June to 0.16, which is almost undetectable. The doctor said if this would have been my first AMH, no one would have even touched me for IVF. But he said it seems that many people who have endometriosis seem to have lower AMH, but many are still able to produce children especially in my case because.... the good news is that the ultrasound showed a follicle count of 9!!!! And since the follicle count is a more important predictor because we can physically see that there are eggs left, the doctor said he is kinda going to ignore the AMH. My previous follicle count in June was an 11, but the margin for error is +/- 2 so it looks like my egg reserve has stayed the same which is AWESOME!
The doctor is puzzled as to how I have 9 follicles on my own this cycle, and 6 last cycle, but during the IVF drug treatment I was only showing 2 follicles. So we had a long talk and the doctor and I are both convinced that my body doesn't react well to the overload of medication I have been on for the last 10 months. He thinks the steroid I was on from January to June might have totally screwed up my AMH levels, since AMH is directly connected to your pituitary gland, and the steroid I was on directly affects that as well. He thinks that all of my hair shedding/loss, the drop in AMH, and the nonreaction to the drugs might all be attributed to the steroid making my pituitary gland shut down. He also added that the combination of all the hormones in the birth control pills and my pituitary gland being messed up could be the reason for no reaction to the IVF drugs. Soooo, what is the PLAN?
Well, we are going to try and prepare my body for IVF as naturally as possible and with as few hormones as possible leading up to another IVF cycle. The doctor is NOT going to give me any kind of hormones like birth control pills or progesterone this cycle to try and force a period to come when they want it to in order to start IVF. He just said we will leave you alone, but you must start on your own no later than Nov 5th, or else we will be forced to push you back into the December cycle. Great no pressure!
The medicine I used last cycle is still being tested, and the doctor said now that he hasn't decided which group of medicines I will do next IVF and he will not decide until those results come back. Which means he NOW isn't opposed to using the same medicines, if in fact the first ones were counterfeit.
We also discussed the hair shedding issue and I told him it was a big concern for me. I told him about my DHEA research and that I had seen several women blogging online talking about their hair loss. The doctor thinks the hair loss is most likely from 1 of 3 things: birth control pills, the predisone steroid I was on from Jan-June, or the DHEA. But that is it definitely from a hormone imbalance of some sort, most likely created by all the stuff I have taken. So I am stopping taking the DHEA for a couple weeks to see if that makes a difference, since that is the only one of the three I have been on most recently. The doctor seemed to have a strong feeling that the hair loss is the bottom fall-out of the predisone. Which to me seems strange because I had hair loss with it in June and July, then it seemed to almost stop in August, and then got really bad again in late Sept/Oct. I wouldn't think that the after effects of something would go up and down like that, but who knows???
My mom found this all natural shampoo, vinegar rinse, and oil spray online that I am going to use to hopefully try and stop the hair shedding/loss. The vinegar rinse says that it is supposed to help remove the excess build up of DHT which is actually testosterone, which is what DHEA is converted into. I read a journal article online that said if women have too much testosterone in their body, either naturally, or they are taking too much DHEA, the body converts it into DHT and then tries to expel the excess DHT out of the body, most of the time through the scalp and hair follicles which leads to hair loss. Ahhh Haaa! I think I may be on to something! So hopefully this stuff will help. Keep your fingers crossed! I am pretty sure by the time we figure this pregnancy hormone thing out I will either have my MD or PhD or some kind of medical research certification!! Ha ha!
Basically I am learning more and more everyday that this journey to have a baby this way is a huge guessing game and really the doctor's don't know much more than I do. They can constantly change up the variables, but when it is all said and done there is no exact science and it is all just a big experiment, that may or may not work. I am glad that the doctor is willing to listen to what I have researched and then we come up with a plan together based on both of our opinions, research, and his experience.
For now we will just go on about our normal lives because there isn't anything we can control and if my cycle decides to come on or before Nov 5th, then we will jump back into IVF mode. If my body decides it isn't the right time, then well..... we will wait. In the meantime, we are sending lots of good energy and love to my friend Dave in New York who suffered a brain aneurysm a couple weeks ago, but is making a miraculous recovery! My problems seem so small next to what you have been through. And Go Cardinals!
Jenny
Bad news is that my AMH level has significantly dropped from 0.48 in June to 0.16, which is almost undetectable. The doctor said if this would have been my first AMH, no one would have even touched me for IVF. But he said it seems that many people who have endometriosis seem to have lower AMH, but many are still able to produce children especially in my case because.... the good news is that the ultrasound showed a follicle count of 9!!!! And since the follicle count is a more important predictor because we can physically see that there are eggs left, the doctor said he is kinda going to ignore the AMH. My previous follicle count in June was an 11, but the margin for error is +/- 2 so it looks like my egg reserve has stayed the same which is AWESOME!
The doctor is puzzled as to how I have 9 follicles on my own this cycle, and 6 last cycle, but during the IVF drug treatment I was only showing 2 follicles. So we had a long talk and the doctor and I are both convinced that my body doesn't react well to the overload of medication I have been on for the last 10 months. He thinks the steroid I was on from January to June might have totally screwed up my AMH levels, since AMH is directly connected to your pituitary gland, and the steroid I was on directly affects that as well. He thinks that all of my hair shedding/loss, the drop in AMH, and the nonreaction to the drugs might all be attributed to the steroid making my pituitary gland shut down. He also added that the combination of all the hormones in the birth control pills and my pituitary gland being messed up could be the reason for no reaction to the IVF drugs. Soooo, what is the PLAN?
Well, we are going to try and prepare my body for IVF as naturally as possible and with as few hormones as possible leading up to another IVF cycle. The doctor is NOT going to give me any kind of hormones like birth control pills or progesterone this cycle to try and force a period to come when they want it to in order to start IVF. He just said we will leave you alone, but you must start on your own no later than Nov 5th, or else we will be forced to push you back into the December cycle. Great no pressure!
The medicine I used last cycle is still being tested, and the doctor said now that he hasn't decided which group of medicines I will do next IVF and he will not decide until those results come back. Which means he NOW isn't opposed to using the same medicines, if in fact the first ones were counterfeit.
We also discussed the hair shedding issue and I told him it was a big concern for me. I told him about my DHEA research and that I had seen several women blogging online talking about their hair loss. The doctor thinks the hair loss is most likely from 1 of 3 things: birth control pills, the predisone steroid I was on from Jan-June, or the DHEA. But that is it definitely from a hormone imbalance of some sort, most likely created by all the stuff I have taken. So I am stopping taking the DHEA for a couple weeks to see if that makes a difference, since that is the only one of the three I have been on most recently. The doctor seemed to have a strong feeling that the hair loss is the bottom fall-out of the predisone. Which to me seems strange because I had hair loss with it in June and July, then it seemed to almost stop in August, and then got really bad again in late Sept/Oct. I wouldn't think that the after effects of something would go up and down like that, but who knows???
My mom found this all natural shampoo, vinegar rinse, and oil spray online that I am going to use to hopefully try and stop the hair shedding/loss. The vinegar rinse says that it is supposed to help remove the excess build up of DHT which is actually testosterone, which is what DHEA is converted into. I read a journal article online that said if women have too much testosterone in their body, either naturally, or they are taking too much DHEA, the body converts it into DHT and then tries to expel the excess DHT out of the body, most of the time through the scalp and hair follicles which leads to hair loss. Ahhh Haaa! I think I may be on to something! So hopefully this stuff will help. Keep your fingers crossed! I am pretty sure by the time we figure this pregnancy hormone thing out I will either have my MD or PhD or some kind of medical research certification!! Ha ha!
Basically I am learning more and more everyday that this journey to have a baby this way is a huge guessing game and really the doctor's don't know much more than I do. They can constantly change up the variables, but when it is all said and done there is no exact science and it is all just a big experiment, that may or may not work. I am glad that the doctor is willing to listen to what I have researched and then we come up with a plan together based on both of our opinions, research, and his experience.
For now we will just go on about our normal lives because there isn't anything we can control and if my cycle decides to come on or before Nov 5th, then we will jump back into IVF mode. If my body decides it isn't the right time, then well..... we will wait. In the meantime, we are sending lots of good energy and love to my friend Dave in New York who suffered a brain aneurysm a couple weeks ago, but is making a miraculous recovery! My problems seem so small next to what you have been through. And Go Cardinals!
Jenny
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Hairy Rollercoaster
Today, I am feeling really sad. I have mentioned in my past blogs how after I stopped taking the steroid predisone suddenly I started experiencing some hair loss in July. The hair loss went up and down for about 6 weeks, and seemed to be getting better in August. I then started the birth control pills (2 a day) for 38 days and then did 6 days of injectible IVF drugs. Well the hair loss has increased noticeably in the last 2 weeks. Every time I wash my hair my hands are covered in hair in the shower. If I brush my hair when it is wet out of the shower the brush is full of hair and I can run my hands through my hair and I have a handful. If I brush my hair while blow drying it my brushes are completely full of hair and when I am done blow drying if I grab the ends of my hair I have another handful. It is really scary! So the last 5 days I have tried not washing my hair as much and not brushing it when it is wet or when blow drying, but I still seem to be shedding large amounts of hair. I have been wearing my hair pulled up because if not, my clothes are covered in hair. I am scared to death! The anxiety when I see it all falling out is almost paralyzing. I feel sick to my stomach. This is not what I signed up for. A girl's hair is her identity, and a part of who she is. I just feel ugly, and well.... like I want to cry. Actually I am crying as I sit here writing this. I have asked the nurse coordinator and the doctor about this and they don't seem too concerned. I have mentioned it in my last two appointments, and they seem to brush it off, and the nurse coordinator even said at my last appt, "Well you just might be a bald pregnant lady." Ummmmm, not cool with me!
So this morning I called the Dr's office again and spoke to the nurse coordinator and cried to her and told her I was really freaked out about how much hair was falling out. She said she didn't know what it was from, as it could be from any number of things, but that she would talk to the doctor about it this afternoon and get back to me. So, I will wait and see what he says. I am hoping he has a solution!!
Update: I just heard back from the doctor and he said I should do two things. One get some Rogaine Women at the store and start using that. Second, he said make an appt with my dermatologist right away to see if there is anything he can suggest. So I will start there.
As far as updates go on the IVF front here is what is new. After being canceled in September, the doctor said I would just go on to have a normal cycle/period. Well that didn't happen. My cycle was 34 days instead of the normal 26-28. Soooo, I thought maybe I got pregnant on my own!? On Thursday this past week (cycle day 32) I went into the doctor for an ultrasound and blood test to see what was going on . The doctor did the ultrasound first and for the FIRST time we had some good news! He looked at my uterus and the lining looked really good, and he thought I might be pregnant, (which we later determined I was not). He then looked at my right ovary and I had 4 follicles on it!!! Well if you remember during the beginning of the cycle with the drugs I only had 2 small follicles. The doctor was very happy to see 4 large follicles on the right and then also saw 2 decent sized ones on the left. He seems to think an answer to why we weren't seeing any growth with the drugs is that the BC pills screwed up my cycle days and what we thought was day 1 of my cycle really was NOT, and so we weren't stimulating on the right days. Anyway, he said this just shows that I am capable of producing at least 6 follicles, so he is confident if we can get the cycle days right we should have good stimulation and follicle response.
In regards to the medicine being tested, we are still waiting to hear. Apparently the process can take up to a month to complete. The doctor said we are still going to go with a different set of medicines for our IVF in November. (Well that is if I am cleared to do November's cycle) What does that mean? Well the doctor wants to try and NOT use BC pills to regulate my cycle this month, to get me on target for next month. He wants to try and have as natural a cycle as possible, because the birth control pills jacked everything up so bad last time. When I spoke with him a few minutes ago he said he wants to introduce progesterone on cycle day 14, for 10 days and then stop taking it and hopefully this will make my cycle start. (I am not sure if it is the big needle injections or just a pill, but I am hoping pills!!??) He needs my cycle to start by a certain day in order for me to be a part of the November cycle. If by chance, it doesn't cooperate and start by the time he needs it to, then we might be pushed back to December cycle. Got all that? Phew, I am exhausted just trying to understand it all myself.
Why can't he just let me or everyone else for that matter just have their normal cycles and be more in tune with what the natural body is doing? Why must everyone be batched into groups? I don't really understand it myself, but he mentioned something about the lab, and how there is only enough space for a certain amount of eggs and if everyone was on their own cycle then they wouldn't have enough space and it would be super confusing and also the doctor would be on call 24/7/365. I guess the batching keeps everyone relatively at the same stage so it is less confusing?? I don't know, that is just kinda what I gathered.
So what's next? Well I have to go to the doctor this Friday to have another ultrasound and blood work done. The doctor is going to do a follicle count again during the ultrasound to see if he thinks my egg reserve has gone down or stayed the same in 5 months. They did some blood work last Thursday when I was there, to also check my AMH levels, which also gives them an idea of what my follicle/egg reserve is doing. So they will compare both of those results and hopefully we will have some more good news, because I am not sure I can deal with any more bad results right now.
Jenny
IVs-2
Blood Draws-6 Vials-23
Needle Injections-16
So this morning I called the Dr's office again and spoke to the nurse coordinator and cried to her and told her I was really freaked out about how much hair was falling out. She said she didn't know what it was from, as it could be from any number of things, but that she would talk to the doctor about it this afternoon and get back to me. So, I will wait and see what he says. I am hoping he has a solution!!
Update: I just heard back from the doctor and he said I should do two things. One get some Rogaine Women at the store and start using that. Second, he said make an appt with my dermatologist right away to see if there is anything he can suggest. So I will start there.
As far as updates go on the IVF front here is what is new. After being canceled in September, the doctor said I would just go on to have a normal cycle/period. Well that didn't happen. My cycle was 34 days instead of the normal 26-28. Soooo, I thought maybe I got pregnant on my own!? On Thursday this past week (cycle day 32) I went into the doctor for an ultrasound and blood test to see what was going on . The doctor did the ultrasound first and for the FIRST time we had some good news! He looked at my uterus and the lining looked really good, and he thought I might be pregnant, (which we later determined I was not). He then looked at my right ovary and I had 4 follicles on it!!! Well if you remember during the beginning of the cycle with the drugs I only had 2 small follicles. The doctor was very happy to see 4 large follicles on the right and then also saw 2 decent sized ones on the left. He seems to think an answer to why we weren't seeing any growth with the drugs is that the BC pills screwed up my cycle days and what we thought was day 1 of my cycle really was NOT, and so we weren't stimulating on the right days. Anyway, he said this just shows that I am capable of producing at least 6 follicles, so he is confident if we can get the cycle days right we should have good stimulation and follicle response.
In regards to the medicine being tested, we are still waiting to hear. Apparently the process can take up to a month to complete. The doctor said we are still going to go with a different set of medicines for our IVF in November. (Well that is if I am cleared to do November's cycle) What does that mean? Well the doctor wants to try and NOT use BC pills to regulate my cycle this month, to get me on target for next month. He wants to try and have as natural a cycle as possible, because the birth control pills jacked everything up so bad last time. When I spoke with him a few minutes ago he said he wants to introduce progesterone on cycle day 14, for 10 days and then stop taking it and hopefully this will make my cycle start. (I am not sure if it is the big needle injections or just a pill, but I am hoping pills!!??) He needs my cycle to start by a certain day in order for me to be a part of the November cycle. If by chance, it doesn't cooperate and start by the time he needs it to, then we might be pushed back to December cycle. Got all that? Phew, I am exhausted just trying to understand it all myself.
Why can't he just let me or everyone else for that matter just have their normal cycles and be more in tune with what the natural body is doing? Why must everyone be batched into groups? I don't really understand it myself, but he mentioned something about the lab, and how there is only enough space for a certain amount of eggs and if everyone was on their own cycle then they wouldn't have enough space and it would be super confusing and also the doctor would be on call 24/7/365. I guess the batching keeps everyone relatively at the same stage so it is less confusing?? I don't know, that is just kinda what I gathered.
So what's next? Well I have to go to the doctor this Friday to have another ultrasound and blood work done. The doctor is going to do a follicle count again during the ultrasound to see if he thinks my egg reserve has gone down or stayed the same in 5 months. They did some blood work last Thursday when I was there, to also check my AMH levels, which also gives them an idea of what my follicle/egg reserve is doing. So they will compare both of those results and hopefully we will have some more good news, because I am not sure I can deal with any more bad results right now.
Jenny
IVs-2
Blood Draws-6 Vials-23
Needle Injections-16
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